Baking & Snack - August 2016 - 70

SALT

amel brings out the sweetness of the caramel and rounds
out the creaminess of the taste."
While often the salt referenced in formulation is kosher salt, he continued, bakers aren't limited to just this
form to meet their needs. Different salts can also offer
bakers different flavors, textures and mouthfeels, and
bakers can work with formulators to find the right salt
for their application. For example, sea salt is denser than
kosher salt, providing the same amount of flavor with
less salt being used.
SaltWorks' sea salt flakes are actually less dense, but
they have a larger surface area than smaller granules,
still delivering more salty flavor without needing to use
additional salt.
The company also offers topping salts in a range of
natural flavors that add not only visual appeal but also
different complementary flavors to the products. For
example, salt combined with Italian black truffle flavor
adds to the flavor of breadsticks and crackers. These
more complex flavors go beyond savory products.
"In sweet goods, salt actually enhances and enlivens
sweet flavors and the subtleties of different ingredients,
yielding a deeper and more well-rounded overall flavor,"
said Megan O'Keefe, media relations, SaltWorks. Sea
salts with chipotle or smoky flavors can bring out the
sweetness of a chocolate croissant, for example.
SaltWorks also has incorporated current trends into
the salt flavors it offers such as sriracha, which can bring
popular Thai heat to any bakery formulation: pretzels,
crackers or even English muffins.
Flavor is important, but enjoyable taste is more complex than just flavor. Texture and mouthfeel come into
play, too, and salt granulation has a lot to do with that.
Salt comes in a wide variety of particle sizes, and it's important that the granulation fits the bakery application,
or else consumers will taste the salt in a negative way.
In cookies, for example, there is less water present in
which the salt can dissolve. "If the salt granule is too big,
people detect the salt, so you want a smaller-sized granulation of salt," Ms. Schuette said. A smaller-sized granulation salt will dissolve better in a low-water formulation like cookies, providing a consistent flavor within the
cookies and avoiding the issue of "crunch salt."
"You have salt sizes across a whole spectrum," Dr.
Johnson said. "We match up the applications to what salt
works best in that application. In a cookie where there
isn't much water, a smaller particle would help so you
don't feel the crunch of the salt. But for something like
bread that has more water available, you can use a salt
with a bigger granule size because the salt will dissolve."
A challenge with salt is that it can sometimes cake or
clump together if there is a change in humidity. When
relative humidity rises above 75%, atmospheric moisture

70 Baking & Snack August 2016 / www.bakingandsnack.com

Sea salt's color, size, shape and mineral content depends on
its location of origin and harvesting technique.
Saltworks

Clean-label salt
With an ingredient as straightforward as
salt, one would think that it would excel in
the clean-label movement. But there are
some forms that carry more weight with
consumers seeking such foods than others.
Sea salt is an up-front choice in these instances because it fulfills consumers' expectations of all-natural ingredients. Producers
evaporate the salts from sea water without
additives or chemical treatments. The salt's
color, size, shape and mineral content depend on where it comes from, which adds
to the story of the ingredient.
"Elevating the salt in the product by using different varieties such as our Ancient
Ocean Himlayan Pink Salt or Sel Gris from
France also adds an element of connection and romance for the consumer,"
said Megan O'Keefe, media relations,
SaltWorks.
The color of these salts vary from white
and ivory fleur de sel; pink Himalayan
salt; red Hawaiian alaea; gray in the Celtic,
French grey or gris salts; to black in the
sanchal and smoked sea salts. These salts
can also carry additional mineral contents
such as iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium manganese, zinc and iodine.
These salts can be denser or have a larger surface areas than kosher salt granules.
This enables bakers to be able to use less
salt while still delivering the same flavor,
which is helpful considering its higher cost.

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Baking & Snack - August 2016

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